MUSKEGON COUNTY -- Donald Thomas Bayne, accused of fracturing the skull of his girlfriend's 9-month-old daughter while the baby lay in a playpen, is taking his case to felony trial court.

Bayne is charged with torture, a life felony, and first-degree child abuse, a 15-year felony. This week he waived his preliminary examination in Muskegon County 60th District Court, which had been scheduled for Thursday, and was bound over for trial in 14th Circuit Court.

The 23-year-old Fruitport man was charged as a second-time habitual offender, which could add 50 percent to his maximum prison sentence. That's based on a 2009 conviction of animal killing/torture for hitting a dog in the head with a hammer until it died.

Bayne remains lodged in the Muskegon County Jail in lieu of $1 million cash or surety bond.

Police said Bayne admitted he punched the infant in the back of her head while she lay in her playpen because she was crying.

The baby's mother was working at the time of the 3:30 p.m. Feb. 1 incident, police said.

The infant is being transferred from Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids to Saint Mary’s Health Care in Grand Rapids for additional treatment, police said Wednesday.

The baby had been in critical condition when first admitted to the hospital, but her condition has improved since, Fruitport Township Police Detective Sgt. Bruce Morningstar said.